Bush Rats also known as Rattus Fuscipes is a native rodent here in Australia and usually resides along the coastlines where there are bush lines. Typically the Bush Rat will forage on fruits, insects, seeds, arthropods, fungi and fibrous plant material. Fortunately the Bush Rat is not a serial pest to agricultural, households and businesses. The Bush Rats carry an airborne disease called Leptospirosis which is a potentially fatal disease.

What Do Bush Rats Look like?

Bush Rats are a brownish, greyish to reddish colour with a light colour belly. Bush Rats fur is really soft and dense. Bush Rats ears are large and rounded. Bush Rats front teeth are very distinctive and are often yellowish. The Bush Rat has a relatively small tall compared to the Roof Rat.

Head to Body – 111-214mm
Tail – 105-295mm
Weight 40-225grams

Life Cycle of the Bush Rat

Life Span – 18 months

Gestation Period – 22-25 days

Litter Size – 4-7

Number of litters per year – 5 – 5 litters

Nesting Behaviours

The Bush Rat is a poor climber and will rarely be found in areas which are elevated. Bush rats prefer to build their burrows and will utilise grass, logs and rocks to help build their burrows. They are not usually found in areas populated by humans.